Private Harold Joseph Boyle

 

The second name on the memorial at Victoriatown is Harold Joseph Boyle, born 26/September/1920 to Terrance and Francis Boyle in Pt. St. Charles.

He worked for the Canadian National Railroad as a truck (helper).

He enlisted in the Black Watch, Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (C.A.) Private Boyle was killed in action in Italy on 8/February/1944 and interred in the Moro River Canadian Cemetery in Abruzzo, Italy.

 

 

He was awarded postumusly:

1939-1945 Star

Italy Star

Defence Medal

War Medal

CVSM & clasp

 

The family were members of St. Gabriel’s Church

 

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson

Saint Ann’s Church

Organized about 1848 as a Mission – The church opened in 1854.
This church was the soul and inspiration of the Irish Community. 


     

Although, it has been closed and demolished for years, Saint Ann is still referred to in numerous writings about the Irish of South Central Montréal – In 1884, a portion of the congregation of the Parish of Saint Ann were asked to join the ranks of Saint Gabriel. It appears that a fair number of Irish families agreed to the move  In 1982, the parish of St Ann would close its doors.



The demolition of St. Ann's



©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson

Lance Seargeant Joseph Piernino Andreoli

Is the first name listed on the memorial stone that sits neglected behind a fence in old Victoriatown, I was intrigued, who were these brave men?

L.Sgt. J. P. Andreoli was born in Montreal, the youngest child of Pasquale and Lucia Andreoli. He worked as a shoemaker at the Montreal Drydocks and was baptized at Ste. Anne Church.



Joseph enlisted in the Army and was placed with the Royal Canadian Artillery as a gunner. He shipped to the Mediterranean and saw battle at Ortona, Italy and Moro River, Italy.

He was killed in action at the Battle of Moro River and interred in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Abruzzo, Italy. He was 22 years old.

He was awarded posthumously:

1939-1945 StarItaly Star
Defence Medal
War Medal
C.V.S.M. medal and clasp

The awards never reached his family, they were marked undeliverable, and went back into stock.





©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson

Victoriatown

One of the last traces of old Victoriatown is a stone monument dedicated to the men and women who served in World War II. It sits behind a fence, neglected. It reads:


 In grateful tribute to the men and women of this community who served in WWII 1939 – 1945 and dedicated to the glory of those who died in this great cause.

Killed In Action: 

Sgt. J. P. Andreoli

Pte. H. J. Boyle

Pte. J. M. Carter

Sgt. J. Chapatis

Gnc. W. E. Gearey

Pvt. C. E. Laurent

Cpl. G. E. Latour 

Pte. J. L. Learmouth

Cpl. W. R. Mathers

Sgt. R. M. Pitts

Pte. J. Somma

Sgt. C. F. Stankus

Sgt. W. H. Webb

Sgt. E. Wright

Died On Active Service:

Spr. E. L. Hill, Pte. C. Ranalli

“We shall remember them”

erected by The citizens of Victoriatown

Victoriatown was once known as Windmill Point and later became Goose Village.

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson

Windmill Point

Windmill Point was a quarantine area where between 3,500 and 6,000 Irish immigrants died of typhus or "ship fever" in 1847 and 1848. The immigrants had been transferred from quarantine in Grosse Isle, Quebec.

Due to a lack of suitable preparations, typhus soon reached epidemic proportions in Montreal. Three fever sheds were initially constructed, 150 feet (46 m) long by 40 to 50 feet (15 m) wide. As thousands more sick immigrants landed, more sheds had to be erected.

The number of sheds would grow to 22, with troops cordoning off the area so the sick couldn't escape. Grey Nuns cared for the sick, carrying women and children in their arms from ships to the ambulances.

According to Montreal journalist and historian Edgar Andrew Collard, thirty of 40 nuns who went to help became ill, with seven dying. Other nuns took over, but once the surviving Grey Nuns had convalesced, they returned. Priests also helped, many falling ill after hearing the last confessions of the dying.

When a mob threatened to throw the fever sheds into the river, Montreal mayor John Easton Mills quelled the riot and provided care, giving patients water and changing bedding. He died in November, having served less than a year in office. 


The Roman Catholic Bishop of Montreal urged French Quebecers to help their fellow Catholics. Many travelled to Montreal from the countryside to adopt children, in some cases passing their land on to them.

During the mid-19th century, workers constructing the Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence River discovered a mass grave in Windmill Pointwhere victims of typhus epidemic of 1847 had been quarantined in fever sheds. The workers, many of whom were of Irish descent, were unsettled by the discovery and wanted to create a memorial to ensure the grave, which held the coffins of 6,000 Irish immigrants, would not be forgotten.

Erected on December 1, 1859, the stone was the first Canadian monument to represent the famine. The inscription on the stone reads:

"To Preserve from Desecration the Remains of 6000 Immigrants Who died of Ship Fever A.D. 1847-48
This Stone is erected by the Workmen of Messrs. Peto, Brassey and Betts Employed in the Construction of the Victoria Bridge A.D. 1859"

 



©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson

10 Part Series on the Major Fires of Saint-Hyacinthe (Part 10) April 7, 1992

Fire College Saint-Maurice and the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary

Text from the Clarion Saint-Hyacinthe , Wednesday, April 8, 1992, page 19. By Michel Lamarche

Losses of 40 to 50 million dollars

For Maskoutains, Tuesday, April 7, 1992 will go down as the one of the saddest dates in the history of their municipality, the City of Saint-Hyacinthe has lost a significant part of its heritage, when a huge fire devastated yesterday morning, the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary and the school of Collège Saint-Maurice, a facility built on Girouard Street since 1876.



This disaster has caused consternation among religious, student and alumni that could see the scene of the blaze.
While many religious and students can not hold back their tears, some former students ressassaient all kinds of memories of their passage within the prestigious academic institution.
Even Maskoutains less concerned with the history of the Collège Saint-Maurice were nostalgic watching the events and many seniors this fire compared to those that hit the Seminary of Saint-Hyacinthe, in 1927 and 1963.



Rapid spread
According to what stated Mrs. Céline Dion Desjardins Director responsible students of the 2nd cycle of the College is to say the grades 3, 4, and 5 side, the fire started at 7 am, a room on the 4th floor of the Mother House, which had over for minor renovations. At the time of writing, no one has confirmed if such works were the direct cause of the fire.



If the disaster first hit for the most part in the center of the venerable building, it spread very quickly throughout the establishment, including the part called the Normal School, and in the afternoon, the gymnasium, a much more recent construction located at the east end of the College could be saved.

We were faced with a horizontal and vertical flame spread very fast and more, so around 8 am, 15 minutes after my arrival, we can already say that the fire was out of control, to tell the head of the fire Department of the City of Saint-Hyacinthe, Jacques Desrosiers, at a conference organized at the scene of the disaster Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Desrosiers has also had to defend himself before a heavy fire of questions that have questioned the work of his team.



There is not a leader of a team of firefighters who may be happy to see a building fall under the flames. However, I do know how our men gave a superhuman effort to save the building, but because of the age and the strong wind that blew eastward, the task was impossible, "Mr. Desrosiers to trump that led a team of 90 firefighters not only from Saint-Hyacinthe, but seven other municipalities either Beloeil, Saint-Bruno, Granby, Saint Thomas Aquinas, St. Rosalie, St. Dominic and St. Helena, the staff last two teams remaining on hold.

The incident had reached such proportions that at 8 am, the Desrosiers chief had decided to evacuate the building in which were some 175 nuns including several bedridden permanently and fifty students residents, who in the late morning were back in their family home.

The phase of evacuation was strong efficiently d`environ over half an hour. It involved many resources including Ambulances BGR, Hôtel-Dieu, the Centre hospitalier Honoré-Mercier, the Seminary of Saint-Hyacinthe, the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of St. Joseph, who have all contributed to one way or another to the welfare and security of the nuns.



Thanks to the evacuation, no one has been killed or injured as a result of the fire.
The nuns were received byvarious institutions in the region, the Seminar and the Houses of the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Obviously, at the time of writing, it was unclear where, when and how to reorganize the school year, some 450 students attending the College Saint-Maurice.

(Translation may contain errors)

©2016 Linda Sullivan-Simpson

10 Part Series on the Major Fires of Saint-Hyacinthe (Part 9) August 2, 1981

 

 

The worst fire in a long time, damage estimated at $7 million

Text from the Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe , Wednesday, August 5, 1981, page 4.

For those who walk in downtown Saint-Hyacinthe the last few days, and there are many, the scene of desolation that reigns in the quadrilateral formed of Des Cascades, Saint-Antoine and Hotel-Dieu, St. Anne and St. Francis seems unreal but nothing can relive the intensity of the fire of August 2, when in a few quick hours, the destructive element, ignited by a criminal hand, would reduce to rubble no less than twenty stores and dwelling houses.

It was around 5 pm that the first alarm was sounded and when the first firefighters arrived on the scene, it was obvious that they would have to fight a major disaster already, flames crackled on both sides of the Sainte-Anne, at the height of the brewery of the old Saint-Antoine.

That is why, from the first moment, the possibility of a criminal hand was not ruled out, rightly elsewhere as it was to be demonstrated later.

This is also why he was called Sorel including firefighters who hurried towards Saint-Hyacinthe with a scale of 100 feet, as well as those of Saint-Hilaire, with a scale of 75 feet.

 

The flame intensity was such that the windows would burst under the effect of heat on the Rue Sainte-Anne. In addition, high voltage forced firefighters to exercise caution to avoid electrocution. The time required to remove power would have seemed significant to certain risks and were taken by the magnitude of the disaster.

With the arrival of the volunteer firefighters of Saint-Damase Saint-Dominique, La Presentation, St. Rosalie and St. Thomas Aquinas, not less than one hundred firefighters were on hand with a major equipment.

A very large crowd was also on hand and special measures had to be adopted so that everything happend in conditions as safe as possible. One of the first arriving on the scene was to evacuate the house and it is thanks to this intervention no lives were reported. At most, two firefighters were injured by smoke and burn.

Lit from the back of the brewery in Old San Antonio probably in the debris of a house demolition, the fire crossed the Rue Sainte-Anne, in the direction of the market, while continuing its destructive work between rue Sainte -Anne and Hotel-Dieu. 

Many questions remain unanswered at the time of writing, while two individuals appearing in connection with the fire, including the fact that the fire is found on both sides of the Rue Sainte-Anne as quickly. Answers should be obtained during the investigation that will follow.

It only took a few hours for the flames leave behind rubble and millions of gallons of water were dumped. More than forty hours later, firefighters continued to stir debris with a backhoe to water possible homes. The destructive element seems to have been stopped in its course by the arches of the house Laflamme (at least on the side of the Rue Saint-Antoine), while elsewhere the work of firefighters focused on protecting a perimeter to contain flames.

 

(Translation may contain errors)

©2016 Linda Sullian-Simpson